STE: Skin Care
by ZenosParadox
Summary: RS friendship, Tuhobby. Hoshi helps Malcolm deal with the consequences of his Suliban disguise. Coda for Detained, Season1


Title: Skin Care  
  
Author: ZenosParadox  
  
Category: Humor  
  
Rating: G  
  
Summary: RS friendship, Tu+hobby. Hoshi helps Malcolm deal with the consequences of his Suliban disguise. Coda for Season 1 Detained episode.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.  
  
SKIN CARE  
  
Ensign Hoshi Sato stood in front of Lieutenant Malcolm Reed's door, rapping three short bursts on it to indicate her presence. She waited a bit impatiently with one foot lightly tapping on the floor.   
  
She was dressed in a tank top and shorts, but her hair was pulled into a braid. Over one arm she carried a plastic basket that contained an assortment of bottles and jars while she carried a purple robe and two purple towels over her shoulder. She knocked again, knowing that her persistence would eventually pay off, but impatient to get to her task.  
  
Lieutenant Reed finally opened the door dressed in a t-shirt and sweat pants, surprised to see his visitor, and a bit irritated that someone had gone to the trouble to seek him in his quarters.   
  
His face looked as if it had a reddish stain all around the high cheekbones, nose and forehead. His hair had a dull, flat look to it. Added to this was the discomfort from the bruise on his back near his shoulders, the bump on the side of his head and the small burn on his lower back. Malcolm Reed was not in the mood for company.   
  
"What can I do for you, Ensign?" he queried, trying to use his 'don't bother me' tone of voice that could send crewmen running. But, of course, this was Hoshi. He should've known it wouldn't work on her.  
  
"Come with me. I've checked with Dr. Phlox and he agreed that I've got just the thing to ease some of your discomfort, but it takes a few hours to work, so we need to get started now. Come on," she said, dragging the confused Lieutenant out of his quarters before he realized what was happening.  
  
"Dr. Phlox has already given me antihistamines for my allergies. He said there was nothing else he could do for the contact dermatitis the Suliban mask left on me. Now can I just go back to my quarters and be miserable in peace?" said Malcolm, stopping suddenly. Hoshi bumped back into him, having still been leading him by the arm.   
  
"Malcolm, trust me. I spent a lot of summers working at a health spa for my aunt at the resort she owned. We routinely took care of sunburns, skin allergies and overcooked hair," Hoshi ended, letting go of his arm to run a quick hand through his hair.   
  
Malcolm kept his hair short, but it usually had a healthy luster to it. Even that was gone and the feel was course and dry. "Believe me, this will help your skin heal so that you can get back to playing with your weapons sooner. Or do you want to spend the next 48 hours confined to your quarters like Dr. Phlox advised?"  
  
She had him there.  
  
"Lead on, then," Malcolm conceded with a sigh.   
  
He still wasn't sure what Hoshi had in mind, but he was actually enjoying the fact that she had taken the trouble to think of his problems and was trying to help. This type of attention was unexpected and left him with an odd feeling, almost happy in his discomfort.  
  
Hoshi took him round the corner and opened the door to a small room. At the demand of the women on board, Trip Tucker had hastily designed a small nook that could be used as a beauty parlor. He had rerouted plumbing for two sinks and had modified chairs to be used for working with hair next to them. Several small tables were also set with bowls for manicures and a long padded table was also available for massage.  
  
Hoshi set her supplies on a table near one of the chairs by a sink and indicated for Malcolm to sit. He lay back gingerly, still feeling the bruise on his back. As Hoshi saw him flinch, she gave her first command.  
  
"Let's get your back taken care of first. Didn't you put on the salve that Dr. Phlox sent with you?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief at the way he would ignore these things.  
  
"It's a bit difficult to reach across your back when a bruise is running along both sides," Malcolm admitted. He let Hoshi help him take off his t-shirt and sat quietly while she rubbed a salve she had taken from her basket across his shoulders. Her touch was gentle, although he shivered a bit when her hands moved up and down the back of his neck. She also covered the burn on his back, tsk-tsking the entire time.  
  
"Good thing I still have the jar from the last time you were hurt when we found that ship with the holographic crew. You couldn't reach your back then, either. I had to pester you during our entire shift before you'd let me see to it. Honestly, Malcolm, you just don't take care of yourself sometimes."  
  
"I'm the Armory Officer, Hoshi. Injuries come with the job--" began the Lieutenant.  
  
"Yes, but do you have to try to lick your wounds in private? There's nothing wrong in asking for some help now and then. Now here, put this on," said Hoshi, handing him the purple robe.   
  
"Dressing like a plum is supposed to help me?" he asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.  
  
In exasperation, Hoshi said, "I'll go get your robe from your quarters if you really find this objectionable."   
  
"I don't have a robe. Men just need a good towel," said Malcolm as Hoshi was helping him get his arms into the sleeves.  
  
Malcolm stood as Hoshi cinched the robe. Good thing he was so wiry, the waist would close but the shoulders definitely stretched the material. Hoshi adjusted the shoulders more loosely, exposing more of Malcolm's chest than would have been proper had he been a woman, but this had been the largest robe she had.  
  
"This will do. I didn't think you'd want water or mud pack getting on your clothes," began Hoshi.  
  
"Mud? What's this about mud?" Malcolm said in a puzzled voice, beginning to wonder what her idea of helping really was.   
  
Hoshi had pushed him back into the chair and was adjusting his head over the sink. Holding the sprayer right over his face, she said in a threatening tone, "Trust me. Now just close your eyes and let me get to work. I'm quite good at this."  
  
So Malcolm closed his eyes, especially when he realized how close Hoshi's chest got to his face as she began wetting down his hair.   
  
The water felt warm upon his scalp. She was efficient in her movements as she lathered up his hair with a fragrant shampoo. She massaged the lather into his scalp, being careful when she saw him wince as she touched the bump on his head. Malcolm began to feel relaxed as she repeated the procedure with a few more sets of washes and rinses. He was beginning to feel pampered, an infrequent luxury in his life.   
  
Hoshi gently rubbed his hair with the towel, drying it quickly given its short length. She gave a satisfied nod of her head as she ran her fingers through his hair again, giving a gentle massage to the scalp, enjoying the silky feel that had returned. She noticed that Malcolm was pressing his head against her fingers much as her cat at home would when it was enjoying a scratch. She stopped abruptly when she realized what she was doing and began to wrap his head into a turban with the purple towel.  
  
"My hair feels dry. Why are you wrapping it up?" asked Malcolm almost sleepily. He was in a rather languid mood. He was simply asking out of curiosity, too relaxed to give any effort to argument.  
  
"Now I need to take care of your face. This will help keep the mud pack off your hair. Just keep your eyes closed and let me finish. And no talking," replied Hoshi.   
  
There she was talking about mud again! Then Malcolm felt her begin to spread something onto his face, smoothing the light green compound with firm movements of her hands as she moved from his cheeks to nose to his forehead. Hoshi looked at her work, then decided to complete the job by spreading the mud pack onto his jaw and chin. Good skin care was never wasted, her aunt used to say.  
  
"Now, don't move, don't talk. Just let the mud pack do the work. It actually has some plant-derived steroids in it that will help with the redness of your face. That's what gives it the greenish color. We need to leave it on for about two hours, so are you comfortable?" asked Hoshi.  
  
Malcolm could only mumble his yes, already starting to become drowsy.   
  
"Okay, well, then it's my turn to see to my skin," she said as she proceeded to wrap her hair in the other towel she had brought. Hoshi applied her own face mask from a different jar in quick, efficient movements. She reclined on the chair next to Malcolm and also relaxed. Malcolm would thank her for this, she was certain of that.   
  
-----  
  
Captain's Quarters  
  
"So you think Starfleet will really want to see the renovations I made to that room so that the women on board could use it as a beauty parlor?" Trip asked the Captain.  
  
"I think taking care of the little things that keep folks happy may mean the difference between a disgruntled crew or one with good morale. The beauty parlor you fixed up is just one way we can show that we care about the well being of our crew even in the little things. And starships are only going to keep getting bigger, crew size will increase which, of course, will mean more women on board. And don't forget, the men use the room as a barbershop, too. You really did a fine job in setting it up."  
  
"Well, thank you, Cap'n. I did have fun fixing it up. It was kinda like helping my Uncle Bud when he redid the bathroom in his house. I'll send off the schematics for it right away," said Trip. He was pleased at the thought that his little project may have an impact on future starships.  
  
"I just got a great idea, Trip. Why don't you take same actual pictures of it being used to go along with the schematics you're sending to Starfleet? With luck you'll find someone using it. I'm sure they won't mind being in a picture," said Archer.  
  
"Yeah, that would be good. I'll go do that right now," said Trip.  
  
------  
  
One Week Later at Starfleet Headquarters  
  
"You've seen the schematics on the beauty parlor room that Commander Tucker of the Enterprise sent? What do you think?"  
  
"Well, it should be easy to accommodate the piping for the sinks. The design is very efficient, so we can make it work in a minimum of space. I don't know if the crew really need such a place, though."  
  
"Did you see the picture Tucker sent with the schematics? I mean, one of the women looked really hot, but the other one! I swear, she was not only flat-chested, but it almost looked like she had hair on her chest. I bet that one has to spend a lot of time in there."  
  
"Eew, you're right. I remember that one. Gives me the shivers to think about running across her aboard ship. Yeah, it's amazing what space travel will do to some women. I think it's something about stress hormones."  
  
"Uh huh, so let's incorporate the room into the design. Now, which level..."   
  
*****  
  
Author Notes:   
  
4 pages. Written April, 2002 and posted at LD.  
  
No reviews are necessary. Thanks for taking the time to read. 


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